It’s that time of year when John & I pack up our computers and take a couple of weeks off from producing what has now become – with more than 100,000 readers in 163 countries – the most widely read cleaning publication in the world. Our next issue will be broadcast on 28thAugust.

I for one will be joining millions of people celebrating the warmer months at picnics, festivals and various beaches, where practicalities mean that taking a picnic is often the most enjoyable and easiest option.

One of my bugbears about picnicking is having to take home dirty plates, cups and cutlery. However hard I try, I never manage to keep my hands clean or prevent the remains of coleslaw and the like running over everything else in the bag and sometimes dripping down my clothes. But what I really hate, is the remains of other people’s picnics, left by those too selfish to take their things home with them and too lazy to put them in a bin. I so wish there were litter police around at times like this!

Help is afoot though. A recent Guardian newspaper article talks of the launch of a ‘biodegredible’ cup – one you can eat once you’ve finished your drink! And if you don’t like the idea of that, you can simply melt the cup by pouring hot water on it (clearly no good for coffee then…) Like me, designers Chelsea Briganti and Leigh Ann Tucker were frustrated with the amount of disposable food packaging that’s discarded, but as product designers, they were in a position to provide a solution. The cups – which come in different colours and flavours, are made from a seaweed-based gel. I found out more at biodegradable-edible-cups and it’s certainly an interesting concept.

Have you tried one of these cups and if you have, could you let me know what you think?